My experience during our visit to Rome was similar and very different from our stay in Athens. Like Athens, Rome has historical sites on the corner of every street and is full of rich history. However, there are many differences. Aside from the differences between countries, such as speaking different languages, I’ve experienced the differences in their cultures in many ways.
Starting with the history, I was more familiar with the ancient history of the Roman Empire than I was with the Greek history. This was exciting for me because I could learn all kinds of new facts I had never heard of. This was helped by the addition of wonderful tour guides that showed us around their major monuments, such as the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and other historical sites throughout the city. Unlike Athens, where you could see the Acropolis at the top of the hill, and most of the historical monuments, other than the Colosseum, I would often stumble upon in the middle of a city square. It was interesting to see how the different pieces of ancient history clashed with the modern world.
Another thing that I found interesting was how I could see the development of Rome. In Athens, it was mainly the ancient Greek civilization and then the modern civilization. In Rome, however, you can see the transition from the ancient Roman Empire to the Renaissance era, along with the mixture of Christianity being introduced. One of my favorite days was when we went and visited the Vatican. I knew very little of the Vatican and Catholicism’s influence on not just Rome but the rest of the world.
Lastly, I experienced the cultural differences between Italy and the US and between Italy and Greece. Firstly, the differences between Italy and the US are numerous, but the majority of things I noticed were small differences. They ate at different times, much like in Greece, but the structure of their meals was different. They usually have little to no breakfast and usually have a cappuccino or espresso in the morning. They had a light lunch, like pizza or a sandwich, usually around 1:00 or two in the afternoon. The main difference was that they usually ate dinner around 9:00 or 10:00 PM. The dinner consisted of appetizers, a first course that was usually just pasta of different kinds, and the second course that consisted of meats and other sides. I noticed This little thing, but it took some getting used to it.
